"It's funny to me that people think I have this insanely prolific output. I don't see it," says rocker Ty Segall. We're gonna humbly disagree: Since 2008, the 27-year-old has whipped up six solo albums ranging from scuzzy punk to acoustic jams, three collaborative LPs, one album as the Ty Segall Band, and one as the drummer in a stoner metal band called Fuzz.

What's actually surprising is the one-year gap between his last album and his latest one, Manipulator—and it's because of a new-found perfectionism. He spent hours tinkering each day: "I kept using the word ‘professional’ as a joke," he says. "But there's more truth to it than I care to admit." Did we mention he plays every instrument on the album?

The result is the most accomplished release of his career and one of the best this year; his evolving musical maturity shines through on each track. "Turns out you have to breathe a lot differently when you're singing than when you're screaming."